Region: National

Families of the disappeared strongly condemns acquittal of Palparan, calls for justice and accountability in the Philippines

Desaparecidos, an organization of families and friends of the disappeared in the Philippines, vehemently condemns in the strongest possible terms the shocking and unjust acquittal of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with serious physical injuries charges filed by farmer-brothers Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo against Ret. Maj. Gen. Jovito “The Butcher” Palparan by Malolos Regional Trial …

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Karapatan strongly condemns dismissal of kidnapping charges vs Palparan et.al.

October 6, 2023 Karapatan strongly condemns Malolos Regional Trial Court Branch 19 Judge Francisco Felizmenio’s dismissal of charges against retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan in the case of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with serious physical injuries filed by farmer-brothers Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo. The case was filed by the Manalo brothers in 2016. We …

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Karapatan condemns the killing of labor organizer Jude Thaddeus Fernandez

Photo from AlterMidya October 5, 2023 On September 29, at about 4 p.m., elements from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police (PNP-CIDG) barged into the house in Binangonan, Rizal where Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) labor organizer Jude Thaddeus Fernandez was staying and gunned him down. According to reports, the PNP …

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Karapatan supports abduction survivors Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano’s amparo petition at SC

Photo by Jam Sta. Rosa/Agence France-Presse September 29, 2023 Human rights alliance Karapatan expressed strong support for surfaced environmental defenders Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro as they filed their petition for the writs of amparo and habeas data at the Supreme Court through their lawyers, and urged the high court to grant the petition immediately. …

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Families of the disappeared press NTF-ELCAC to surface Dexter Capuyan and Gene Roz Jamil de Jesus

The recent revelations of Jonila de Castro and Jhed Tamano, the two young women environmental defenders who were abducted on September 2, 2023 and surfaced as “surrenderees” by the military and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), shows the need for a more thorough independent investigation into the enforced disappearance …

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Rights group decries increasing use of law on terrorism financing vs dev’t and humanitarian workers

September 28, 2023 Karapatan denounces the filing of another case citing violations of Republic Act No. 10168 or the Anti-Terrorism Financing and Prevention Act against development workers of the Community Empowerment and Resource Network (CERNET) as yet again another clear and unequivocal example on how counter-terror legislation in the Philippines is being used to violate …

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Eight individuals killed by soldiers on 51st anniversary of martial law

Photo by Carlo Manalansan/Bulatlat September 25, 2023 The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) marked the 51st anniversary of martial law by brutally killing eight individuals in two separate incidents in Negros Occidental and Masbate, in full contravention of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). On September 21, farmer couple Jover and Aimee Villegas were gunned down by …

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Karapatan demands full accountability for all perpetrators of rights violations now

September 24, 2023 Karapatan sounds the alarm on the disturbing trends that further illustrate the dire inadequacy, of domestic accountability mechanisms, or lack thereof, in the Philippines, amid the recently-issued rulings of the Ombudsman and the Court of Appeals and the worsening human rights situation in the country. We are incensed with the recent decisions …

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Statement of the Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) on the 51st Anniversary of Martial Law Declaration

This year, as we mark the 51st year commemorating Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.’s declaration of Martial Law, we find ourselves confronted with the stark reality that the sins and crimes of the past continue to haunt our nation. Coinciding with this is the second year in office of his son, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., who has chosen …

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Unbridled tyranny, corruption and oppression from Marcos Sr. to Marcos Jr.

As we mark the 51st anniversary of the declaration of martial law today, we recall a time of widespread repression and terror, where the voices of the people were silenced and their rights trampled upon.  Dangling the communist bogey, the dictator Marcos Sr.’s martial law saw at least 3,257 extrajudicially killed, 35,000 tortured, 70,000 unjustly …

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